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Train Dreams Sets Netflix Debut as Critics Praise Joel Edgerton’s Elegiac Turn

Critical attention centers on meticulous craft alongside concerns over a softening of the novella’s harsher edges.

Overview

  • The Denis Johnson adaptation is in limited U.S. theaters and will begin streaming on Netflix on November 21.
  • Joel Edgerton’s restrained performance as Robert Grainier is drawing widespread acclaim from reviewers.
  • Director Clint Bentley co-wrote the screenplay with Greg Kwedar, shaping a meditative portrait of early‑20th‑century labor and loss.
  • Reviewers highlight Adolpho Veloso’s 3:2 natural‑light cinematography and Bryce Dessner’s score, which features an end‑credits song co‑written with Nick Cave.
  • Some critics question changes that reduce the protagonist’s active culpability compared with Denis Johnson’s novella, even as others see awards-season potential.